Today is the sixth of February and the birthday of George Herman Ruth, Jr. .. best known as "Babe" Ruth (shown above attending a party in his honor at Burger King).
Babe Ruth, nicknamed "the Sultan of Swat" and "the Bambino" .. which is much better than my nicknames: "the Sultan of Squat" and "that kid with the big nose, oily skin and glasses" .. was the first Major League player to hit 60 home runs in one season (this was before steroids and when they didn't play a gazillion games) .. if you've read anything about his personal life, evidently he scored pretty well there, too.
Unlike many power hitters, Ruth's lifetime batting average was .342 .. tenth highest in baseball history .. and in one season he hit .393, a Yankee record (I believe it is a Rebel record, as well).
In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Babe Ruth number one on the list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players."
I, also, played the game in my younger days and on countless occasions I overheard coaches, players and fans alike refer to my performance as "playing like number two" .. how 'bout that, Bambino!
His .690 career slugging percentage and 1.164 career OPS (on-base plus slugging) remain to be records in the Major League.
I have set a few records myself, but apparently no one really cares about the number of cheese puffs you can eat in one sitting or how many consecutive showings of "A Christmas Story" you can watch on TBS without going to the bathroom.
Yet, I digress.
George Herman Ruth, Jr., I say to you what I will say to my wife in May ...
Happy Birthday, Babe.
"For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe." - Hebrews 5:13
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